To The Heavens With The New Nomos Club Campus Starlight And Night Sky
Nomos released the original Club Campus in 2017. The watches are inspired by the age-old tradition of purchasing or receiving a mechanical watch to symbolize a significant event or achievement. The German brand even offers to engrave the bare case back as part of the sale. Today, two new colorways, Starlight and Night Sky, join the collection, giving more choice to celebrators.
I have a soft spot for Nomos for several reasons. A focus on modern yet timeless designs means that the watches always look fresh and usually work in any situation. Most importantly, I love how the brand has focused on in-house mechanical movements. Nomos now makes six hand-wound calibers, many with the company’s escapements. The Glashütte-based firma is plucky and offers fun watches at reasonable prices. The latest Club Campus Starlight and Night Sky models are no exception.
The Club Campus Starlight and Night Sky
Nomos explains that the inspiration for its newest dial shades comes from self-confidence or joie de vivre. I prefer to think of it as reaching for the stars and achieving a goal or milestone. Regardless of the rationale, we now have a yellow dial called Starlight and a dark blue option named Night Sky.
Each model is available in either a 36mm or 38.5mm case size. The 36mm version has a 47.5mm lug-to-lug, while the larger case size packs a 48.9mm length. The Campus Club features a domed sapphire crystal and an 8.2mm thickness in its smaller guise or an 8.5mm profile when moving up to the senior size. All pieces also have a 100m depth rating. The watches come on gray velour straps with stainless steel pin buckles.
Rich tones
Both references add small touches of color that may not be obvious when first looking at them. The yellow Starlight, for example, uses darker printed Super-LumiNova on its California-esque dial. Each index is surrounded in light orange. Then, the outer minute track uses black hashes and purple numerals. The sub-seconds register even contains a bold orange hand. This mix of colors may not sound convincing, but the concoction works nicely.
The dark blue Night Sky model shakes up the color palette as well. A pink border surrounds each bright white Super-LumiNova index. The color isn’t shouty, but it creates a clear separation between the printed luminous material and the matte blue dial. White ink is used for the outer minute and sub-second tracks. A lavender hue also comes into play for the numerals on the outer edge. The only common dial components between the Starlight and Night Sky appear to be the orange seconds hand and the polished hour and minute hands.
The Alpha caliber
Nomos offers the choice of a solid stainless steel screw-in case back or a display back on the Starlight and Night Sky. The all-steel option comes with complimentary engraving and is in keeping with the intended spirit of the Club Campus. However, choosing to show off the in-house hand-winding Alpha caliber isn’t a bad way to go. The Alpha was the first Nomos movement, and while it is the most basic, it’s no slouch. This three-plate caliber is adjusted to six positions and contains Glashütte ribbing and Nomos perlage. It also hacks and has 43 hours of power reserve. Honestly, it’s an attractive movement and one that other higher-priced brands could learn from.
Pricing and final thoughts
Considering the lovely in-house movement and fine Nomos build quality, the price of €1,300 for the 36mm models and €1,400 for the 38.5mm references feels extremely fair. There’s just not much on the market that competes well with the Club Campus unless it’s another Nomos watch. Regarding the Starlight and Night Sky colorways, I think they’re great additions to the catalog. Frankly, I support any new options that sustain the time-honored tradition of purchasing a mechanical watch to celebrate a significant event.
